General election poll of the North West's voting plans

Digital reporter

The Labour vote may be set to go up in the North West against a national trend, according to a nationwide survey of voting intentions.

The data revealed that 45 per cent of respondents supported Labour at the 2015 election – but 48 per cent said they planned to do so at the general election on June 8.

The Conservatives are also on course to increase their share of the vote in the region.

While 26 per cent of respondents in the North West voted Tory in 2015, 29 per cent plan to do so this time.

UKIP appear to be the big losers in the region. Only 6 per cent of people say they plan to back the party this time compared to 9 per cent who said they voted UKIP in 2015.

Both the Lib Dems and the Greens could see similar vote shares in the region as in 2015. Some 7 per cent said they planned to vote Lib Dem and 5 per cent for the Greens.

Jeremy Corbyn and his party seem to have strongest support in the North West among the young.

Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of people aged 18 to 24 said they intended to vote Labour, while 52 per cent of those aged 65 and over said they planned to vote for the Conservatives.

The survey reveals voters in the North West are split on whether Brexit will be a factor in how they vote on June 8, with 50 per cent saying yes and 50 per cent saying no.

People in the region are more likely to believe Theresa May would be a better Brexit negotiator than Jeremy Corbyn, with 48 per cent of people in the region saying they think she’ll do the best job, compared to 41 per cent for Corbyn.

Confidence in Theresa May increases with age. Some 70 per cent of those aged 65 and over think she would do the best job negotiating Brexit.

Those aged under 35 are more likely to back Jeremy Corbyn, with 57 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 and 55 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 saying he would do the best job.

The survey was carried out online on newspaper websites across the country. A total of 9,741 people completed it nationwide.